Seth Stohs

Jim Souhan was there to write the Palmiero article for the Star Tribune... http://www.startribune.com/st-paul-saints-get-a-visit-from-former-mlb-star-rafael-palmeiro-s-comeback-tour/487837211/

I did this once about 2-3 years ago, but it was during the offseason and well, it's been a long time ago... Let's get to know each other a little bit... Who are the Twins Daily readers and contributors. Obviously don't tell any more than you want to... here are some questions to consider answering, with my answers: 1.) Where are you from? I'm from Perham, MN, home of the Yellowjackets. Currently live in Warroad, MN, Hockeytown USA... Been here for 21 years, and don't feel like you need to get any more specific than you'd like. 2.) Age Range? (I'm in my 40s, lower half, easily.) 3.) What brought you to Twins Daily? (I was at SethSpeaks.net, and me and the rest of the TD guys consolidated to create this fun-filled place) 4.) Highest level of baseball/softball played? (two years at college, Concordia in Moorhead) 5.) Favorite Twins Player, and favorite underappreciated Twins player, and if you want, favorite current Twins player? (I mean, Kirby Puckett, of course... Underrated... Matt Lawton... and current, well, probably most enjoy watching Eddie Rosario though having had the opportunity to meet so many of the players, there are a lot of very good people in the organization.) 6.) Favorite non-Twins Daily site/authors? 7.) Favorite Twitter follows? 8.) Other interests outside of baseball. 9.) Favorite part of Twins Daily... forums, blogs, articles, topics... wahtever you like. 10.) Tell us what we can do better. What features or other topics would you like to see in-season or out of season? 11.) Have you been to any of the Twins Daily "events?"

I would guess that with solid second halves, Nick Gordon and LaMonte Wade will get September call ups. Both have to be added to the 40 man roster in November, so no harm in calling them up for September.

Rafael Palmiero hasn't played in the big leagues since 2005, but he's playing for Cleburne of the independent American Association. This week, they are playing the St. Paul Saints in St. Paul. Coming into the day, he was hitting .296/.406/.506 (.912) with five home runs in 25 games... as a 53 year old. Pioneer Press's Brian Murphy chatted with him about the return. https://www.twincities.com/2018/07/10/brian-murphy-rafael-palmeiro-chasing-a-big-league-encore-at-53/

Ervin Santana gave up two runs on two hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked none. His next outing will likely be on Sunday for Rochester. After the game, he spoke with a media member from Jacksonville: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkjVVWpfBhk&feature=youtu.be With Aaron Slegers' short start on Tuesday night, is it possible that Santana could start instead of Slegers on Sunday?

Random Question of the Day: Have you ever caught a home run ball, or a foul ball at a big league game? Have you ever had a ball tossed to you? It's even OK if you count batting practice. When I was probably 8 years old or so, I was at a Twins game at the Metrodome. They were playing the Red Sox, and during their batting practice, a ball was hit foul down the 3B line. A lefty reliever named John Henry Johnson came over and picked up the ball. I asked for the ball. He turned back toward the field and said, "Ah, I came this far..." He turned and then flipped the ball to me. I'm surprised I caught it. I took that ball and went down by the Twins dugout. I know Kirby Puckett signed it. He was probably a rookie that year, maybe second year guy. A second person did as well. Then I handed the ball to Dave Engle. The one-time "All Star" took the ball, said Thank You and threw it into their ball bag. I was disappointed and started to walk away. He laughed and said, Hey I'm just kidding. He signed it and threw it back to me. After that traumatic experience, I was done with the autograph thing for the day! Do I still have that ball? Of course not. I'm sure I went back home and within a few days, played catch with it or something. I don't know. So, your turn. tell us some stories.

He was hit in the knee late in spring training and that's' initially why he missed time, but recently, the reports have been triceps, which is a different injury. But, I like the Santana comp. Jorge was 91-94, and most were closer to 94. It''ll be interesting to see how he comes back... but I'm' glad he's there. No such thing as too many pitching prospects, cuz TINSTAAPP!

For me, he''d be somewhere in the 15-20 range probably. But, he'd' be the kind of guy that could jump into the top 10 in a hurry once he starts playing.

While I understand that the Twins drafted Jeffers, in part, because they had a pre-selection deal to save $500K... the other part of drafting him that high is because they likely value him higher than a third round pick too. In other words, they aren't just going to draft a guy in the 2nd round that they don't think has a chance to be a quality MLB player. While they understood where many of the online scouting systems didn't' have him as high, they could use that as a way to save the money, but they also obviously really wanted him in the organization. Then using the system to sign 4-5 other Top 10 picks just makes a ton of sense.

You have to at least be impressed that I was the low-man on the Diaz ranking, right?

6 innings of one-run ball from a 19-year-old in his second start at High-A....

We're still in the 16-20 range of prospects. I'd say this group is about potential, but there are enough flaws and question marks. If there weren't, they'd probably be ranked higher. #20 - Arraez has questions in terms of his ability to play defense anywhere, and lack of athleticism and probably power. But, he has an elite hit tool and takes really good at bats. So, if he can continue to develop hit .320 all the way up and in the big leagues, he can be a leadoff man where SLG and OPS matter less than OBP #19 - Jacob Pearson - All about potential. I was sure that he would play this season in E-Town, but not only has he moved up to Cedar Rapids, but he's played well. He's got a really good approach at the plate. He's got slightly above average speed. He's a good defender. The arm isn't strong .He knows the strike zone. But he's still young and raw. #18 - Ryan Jeffers - College hitter, advanced hitter with some power. Could be Mitch Garver-like. Defense a question, which is why he's down this far. If he can stick at catcher and be solid defensively, he could move up this list a bunch. #17 - Lewin Diaz - Tons of power potential. Worrying about lack of power in the Florida State League, especially for a guy as young as Diaz, makes little sense. With his size and strength, as long as he's developing his approach and swing, he could add the HR power in AA. But, he's still got a lot of potential. Will he get there? Who knows? That's why he ranks here. His big weight loss in the offseason is encouraging to his work ethic. #16 - Yunior Severino - He's a great athlete, strong from both sides of the plate, and though he's not real big, he's got some pop in his bat. Defense, probably "just" a second baseman. He's far away, and so young, but he's got all the tools.

He gave up one run through the first six innings. I'll take that anytime... What happened in the 7th inning obviously matters but for a prospect, what happened in the first six innings matters a whole lot more to me.

I would doubt it.

That's why it was important for us to want to put our personal rankings in there. We all have different thoughts and rankings, as all of those reading will as well.

The Triple A All-Star break is upon us. The short-season leagues are in full swing. There were a number of low-scoring contests in the Twins farm system on Monday. Weil and Webb provided offense. The catcher’s mitt was Poppen for Ft. Myers, and Kirilloff and Gelly provided the offense.Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system on Monday. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Outfielder Ryan LaMarre was claimed by the Chicago White Sox.The Twins released Felix Jorge last week, but they announced Monday night that they have re-signed him to a minor league deal.RED WINGS REPORTRochester Box Score The Red Wings are now on their All-Star break. Willians Astudillo was the one Red Wings player to make the International League All-Star team. Since Astudillo was called up to the big league club, Nick Anderson will represent the Red Wings. The International League will take on the Pacific Coast League All-Stars on Wednesday night in Columbus, Ohio. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Jacksonville 3 Box Score Sean Poppen probably deserves better, but part of the development process is getting your work. Through six innings, Poppen had yet to allow a run and had given up just two hits. But he went out for the seventh inning and gave up three runs on two homers. So, over his seven innings, he gave up three runs on five hits. He struck out seven without issuing a walk. It was a quality start, yet it doesn’t highlight just how well he pitched. Cody Stashak worked a scoreless inning in relief. The offense provided just two runs. Zander Wiel went 2-for-4 with his 19th double and first triple. Jaylin Davis also had two hits. Taylor Motter added his first double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Palm Beach 6 Box Score The Miracle got behind early and weren’t able to come back. Andro Cutura started and was charged with five runs on five hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. Colton Davis went the next 3 1/3 innings and did not allow a run. He gave up three hits and struck out four. Ryan Mason went the next 3 1/3 innings and also did not allow a run. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out two. Brady Anderson walked two, but he got the final two outs of the game without allowing a run. The Miracle had just five hits. Taylor Grzelakowski went 2-for-3 with a walk and his 11th and 12th doubles. Alex Kirilloff had two singles. Miguel Sano went 0-4 with a strikeout. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Kane County 3 Box Score Royce Lewis had a day off, but he was called on to pinch hit in the ninth inning. He came through with a single to center field which loaded the bases with one out. Unfortunately, the Kernels were not able to score the game-tying run and lost a close one. Randy Dobnak again provided the Kernels with exactly what they needed, quality innings. The right-hander gave up two runs on eight hits and a walk over the first seven innings. He struck out four and needed just 89 pitches. Melvi Acosta came in for the eighth inning and gave up a run on four hits. Jose Miranda led the offense. He went 3-for-5 with his 18th double. Jean Carlos Arias went 2-for-5 with his eighth triple. David Banuelos went 2-for-5 with his 11th double, and Jared Akins went 2-for-5 with his first Kernels double. E-TWINS E-TALK Elizabethton 2, Danville 0 Box Score The story of this game was some terrific pitching for the Twins. 2018 draft pick Kody Funderburk gave up four hits and no runs over the first four innings. He walked two and struck one out. Moises Gomez worked the middle three innings. He gave up just one hit and walked one while striking out two. Derek Molina recorded his second save. He struck out four batters over two perfect innings. The E-Twins managed just three hits in the game but were able to score two runs. Chris Williams and Alex Robles had back-to-back bases-loaded RBI singles in the sixth inning to provide the run support. Ryan Jeffers went 1-for-2 with two walks in the game. On a side note, Zack Seipel, Atlanta’s 27th round pick in June, worked two scoreless innings. . He walked one and struck out two. He was drafted out of the University of Minnesota-Crookston. It was the fourth appearance of his professional career. GCL TWINS TALK GCL Twins 3, GCL Rays 6 Box Score Steven Cruz started for the Twins. He gave up four runs on two hits in 2 2/3 innings. He walked five and struck out four. Michael Montero came on and gave up one hit over 3 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck one out. Denny Bentley threw two scoreless innings. Erik Cha was charged with two unearned runs on one hit. Tyler Webb led the offense by going 4-for-5 in the game. Janigson Villalobos went 2-for-3 with his third double. Samuel Vasquez was 2-for-5. Side note: 2017 #4 overall pick Brendan McKay made a rehab appearance for the GCL Rays. He had not played for the last month due to oblique muscle tightness. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Also, Jelfry Marte, who agreed to terms with the Twins a year ago but never signed after the Twins withdrew their offer after his physical. Marte went 1-for-4 and is now hitting .271. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Tyler Webb, GCL Twins (4-5) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Sean Poppen, Chattanooga Lookouts (7 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed. Please note that we will be updating our Top Prospect rankings so this list will be updated soon. #1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 1-1 (used as pinch hitter) #2 - Fernando Romero (Rochester) - Did not pitch #3 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - All Star break #4 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - All Star break #5 - Alex Kirilloff (Ft. Myers) - 2-4, K #6 - Wander Javier - out of for the season #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 1-4, K #8 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch #9 - Brusdar Graterol (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, BB, R, K, SB(16) #11 - Zack Littell (Minnesota) - Did not pitch #12 - Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) - Did not pitch #13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, RBI, K #14 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - All Star break #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - Did not play #17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, BB, K, R #18 - Yunior Severino (Elizabethton Twins) - 0-3, BB, R, K #19 - Tyler Jay (Chattanooga) - Did not pitch #20 - Felix Jorge (Chattanooga) - DFAd and Released and Re-signed on Monday. TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester - All Star break Chattanooga @ Jacksonville (6:05 CST) - TBD Palm Beach @ Ft. Myers (6:00 CST) - RHP Clark Beeker (3-6, 3.48 ERA) Cedar Rapids - No Game Scheduled Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions about Monday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

That was their second child. Their first child must be around 3 by now. But yes, if he has a confidence from the Phillies organization that he truly would be that one call away if something like a Franco injury happens, then why not keep it up.

And Gibson too, probably... Romero will be back, but I 100% agree that getting him the MLB experience early was a good thing,, but he really struggled in his latest 4-5 outings, so I think letting him work on some things back at AAA is a good thing. Psychologically, mentally, etc. Then again, I think that NFL teams should do things like... If the starting QB is struggling for a half, put in the backup for one series and let the starter watch from a different angle, then get him right back up there to work on that thing. I think a pitcher can learn a lot from a short demotion and then get him back. Right after the trade deadline makes sense as there may be an opening or two at that time.

I'm guessing a little bit longer... I 'THINK' I heard him say something like two weeks on either the telecast of the radio broadcast. Seemed like a long time, but I wouldn't blame him or the Twins for letting him take a little more time off after the long college run. If he gets to E-Town in another week, that'll give him about 6 weeks of pro game action this year, which is plenty. Get him to Instructs and then let him get ready for spring training.

I almost assume that Chris Carter had an opt-out of his deal and the Twins obviously weren't going to call him up, so they probably were just looking for someone to help the Red Wings. Doesn't seem like the type that would get a call up.

I'm pretty sure the Twins front office and evaluators know exactly what they have in Wells. They also know what he's working on and what he does well. I don't know why he hasn't received a promotion, but they obviously feel what is best for him long-term is to still be in Ft. Myers. I can't pretend to know enough about it to know why he's in Ft. Myers and not in Chattanooga, and I'm comfortable with that.

Yeah, I went back and forth on it... Wells has been a frequent pitcher of the day and deserving so again. But, I think most teams would take 0 runs in 6 innings over 2 runs in 6 innings most days. It's a results versus peripherals thing, I guess.

I mean, I don't get adding another LH Hitting OF either. Obviously it cost nothing, but you've already got Granite and Buxton and Wade and Corcino in the OF in Rochester. Guessing Buxton comes up relatively soon, so they may need another OF, which is fine. Very minor move. As for Motter, I personally like having a guy like that on the roster, especially if you have a short bench because he can play all four infield spots and all four outfield spots. Does he have upside? No. Can he be a quality/decent utility guy? Sure. Is it better if he's in the minor leagues getting at bats than in the big leagues? Probably.

Added. Thank you for the reminder.